14 DAY TRIAL // Cisco has just introduced the Cisco QuantumFlow Processor, a fully integrated and programmable networking chipset that can be called the most advanced piece of networking semiconductor in the world. It took Cisco more than five years to bake the 40-core networking chip, and now it's here and ready to kick some bytes across the network.
The QuantumFlow Processor silicon can perform up to 160 simultaneous processes, which qualifies it for the modern networking environments and the multimedia-based content. The chip has been designed by a team of over 100 engineers, and many of them have been previously working on the Cisco Silicon Packet Processor (SPP) for the Cisco Carrier Routing System (CRS-1).
The 40-core processor is the result of continuous technology advancements that allowed the design team to pack more that 800 million transistors on a single silicon die. In comparison, world's biggest chip, Intel's Tukwila is comprised of slightly more than two billion processors. The achieved density puts Cisco among the most advanced processor-developing companies.
Cisco refused to provide further details about the chip that cost the company more than $100 million in research and development. The company also would not disclose the products that will be powered by the new technology, but it launched an open invitation to watch "a breakthrough innovation that will improve the network for everyone" on March 4.
The invitation is extremely "non-business", given the fact that the event will include interviews with Santa Claus, Cupid and the Easter Bunny, who will talk about how they use the new Cisco technology in their daily activities.
"My entire supply chain runs over the network, right? Eggs, jelly beans, dyes, baskets, synthetic grass, global mapping that gets me from door to door," claimed the Easter Bunny, senior vice president of egghunt services.